Chronic care

The BCH chronic care clinic runs on Thursday and Friday’s and sees patients with non-communicable diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, asthma and COPD and some neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

In Uganda, as in many low-income countries, the burden of diseases such as Diabetes and Hypertension is increasing. These illnesses impose significant challenges in the community, affecting quality of life and ability to work. The complications of these diseases are expensive, and many patients can’t afford treatment.

We are trying to develop the Chronic Care Service at BCH to enable clinics to take place in the community – at small community health centres as well as the hospital. This will enable people to receive a timely diagnosis and access management for their condition which would enable them to continue to live healthy and productive lives in their community, prevent complications of their disease and reduce the burden of mortality due to these conditions across the community. A community rather than hospital-based focus for the service will allow equal access to care for those who cannot afford to travel into the hospital.

Fundraising will be used for equipment for diagnosing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and COPD and for training staff in the community in how to identify and manage these conditions. It will be used to fund treatment and allow mobilization of staff into the community bringing healthcare to patients who most need it.